Many expats live in Thailand on less than 45,000 baht a month

[PiBret]

On 8/5/2018 at 10:07 AM, brianp0803 said:

Many Thai people earn less than 15,000 baht a month. If someone make three to four times their salary would be considered rich enough  to have enough money to share with them.

 

Many expat over 50 living in Thailand very likely have assets in their home country in excess of a million dollars.

 

 

No, rich foreigners don't come to Thailand, they don't have to pay for cheap sex with young girls. The immigration is getting rid of the poor sexpats, than Buddha.

[BobBKK]

3 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

I suspect most of the 45k and under are indeed pensioneers that came for the low cost (that's not so low anymore with the exchange rates and inflation). If they own their condo, it's plenty. 

I agree if you own your home 45k seems fine for the elderly.

For someone like me who likes to go 'out', travel and generally misbehave with girlies then nearer 100k is de rigueur.

[Neeranam]

On 8/15/2018 at 9:55 PM, Sir Dude said:

45k a month is perfectly doable for Thais and foreigners, if you don't have too many debts or payments. If you are just reasonable rent, water, electricity and Internet/phone and bit of recreational entertainment then shouldn't be a problem. If you have no large monthly payments like mortgage, kids in school or car payment then should be fine...but if so, then you are not living within your means and your entitlement means nothing as you are stupid for taking out things you can't repay, live withing your means (however hard that is). Guess what everyone...the world doesn't owe you a living/existence because in reality you actually have to work for it. Facepalm! 

If you have a mortgage, car payment, kids at school, 45 k doesn't even cover that. 170k is needed for a comfortable lifestyle in khon Kaen, foreign holidays, saving for pension, foreign unis etc.

However, it is possible, I did it for many years when single and when kids were young.

[Neeranam]

On 8/10/2018 at 5:26 PM, bwpage3 said:

After 40 pages, one thing that is not addressed is the changing world of Thailand. If you are 60 years old and cash it  all in to move, Thailand as it is today, or you have already cashed it in and live in Thailand, there is no sure fire guarantee Thailand will be the same 10 +years from now.

 

Politicians come and go, rules change all the time. Simple rule changes concerning income and VISA's could decimate a lot of expats who are on a tight financial budget now. Ever think what would happen if the govt changed the rules and you could no longer financially qualify to live in Thailand and you had no where in your home country to move back to or didn't even have the money to move back?

 

Remember in 2011 the govt claiming their will be no more floods? So much for that claim 7 years later.

 

Thailand is becoming duly influenced and dependent on Chinese investment.

 

Elections? Who knows how the wind will change depending on which party gets elected or whether or not the people get sick enough waiting for an election to revolt like the red shirt/yellow shirts in downtown Bangkok.

 

Financial exchange rates? Who knows that the Thai government is thinking keeping the baht strong over the long term?

 

Costs? Costs in general across the board are rising. Any one venture any guesses what cost of living will be 10 years from now as food, cooking gas, petro, utilities, medical, insurance are all rising? Thai's need more and more money on the low income scale, when they get a low raise in minimum wage, prices always seem to rise as much?

 

There really is no easy answer as many are surviving in Thailand today, many have been there more than 20 years and seen multitude of changes, and there will be more and more changes in the future as Thailand either sells out to China or tries to keep up with the rest of world.

 

Medical/Insurance has been beaten to death in this post. You might be healthy today but the odds are as you hit a certain age limit, you are going to run into major medical expenses that could make a huge dent in your ability to live in Thailand? Then what?

 

Traffic, pollution, plastics in the sea, trashed dumped all over the place? This can only get worse and Thai's are not really keen on finding environmental solutions.

 

Family/relatives back home many will never see again because they too will get old and maybe you have no finances to go visit.

 

The really odd thing is no expat ever grew up from a small child thinking, "Gee, I am going to move to Thailand and live on 45,000 a month or less"

 

There is a reason this happened for many and a reason no one can predict what Thailand will be like 10 years from now?

 

Living on 45,000 baht may be great for now and maybe even for years from now, but then again, maybe not.

 

 

 

Yes the only permanent thing in life is change. Things sure have changed in 20-30 years.

If Thailand becomes a developed country, those who came here for the cheapness will have to move, accept what you can't change. 

Those who came for other reasons will find a way to keep enjoying this wonderful country.

[cheeryble]

Yes the only permanent thing in life is change. Things sure have changed in 20-30 years.
If Thailand becomes a developed country, those who came here for the cheapness will have to move, accept what you can't change. 
Those who came for other reasons will find a way to keep enjoying this wonderful country.

Thanks for reminding us that this is a wonderful country to live.
Two people back home in the last year have said what ever you do don’t move back to Britain.



Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Andrew65]

11 hours ago, upu2 said:

Looking at some of the monthly salaries stated in this thread I have to wonder how and why would you accept such low salaries? I understand anyone who wants to stay in Thailand but Bht40 - 50k a month is an insult to anyone

The minimum wage is around 9,000 Baht a month? Is 40-50k really that low in the scheme of things?

[xylophone]

13 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

The minimum wage is around 9,000 Baht a month? Is 40-50k really that low in the scheme of things?

IMO it's what you want out of life that will determine how much you need to spend and personally I could not live on the amounts that have been quoted here.

 

I like to drink reasonable to good wine and I eat out occasionally in Italian restaurants or the like, then there are the payments for TV and Internet, health and car insurance and so on, not to mention a monthly amount paid to my daughter to live in her own room and attend a good school here.

 

Sure I could probably cut down on a few things, but that's not what I came here for, so it's surely, horses for courses and everyone's circumstances will be different.

[jumbo]

2 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Enlighten me! 

split salary

[damascase]

11 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

One of the great injustices of this was that only a small number of embassies were penalised in this way, in spite of claims at the time that the new rules would be applied to all. With hindsight it all seems to have more to do with singling out certain countries for punishment. 

 

Regarding the 45000 baht in the OP, this is currently worth about £1200 in the UK, and many people live on that much or less over there as well. 

Embassies penalised?? Three embassies decided they wouldn’t issue income letters anymore because they weren’t willing/able to implement any level of checks on the income declared. If any penalisation, the citizen of the countries were the ones suffering.

[lamyai3]

5 minutes ago, damascase said:

If any penalisation, the citizen of the countries were the ones suffering.

Pretty sure that was implied in my post. 

[Isaanbiker]

Well, not all can and would like to survive on 200 baht on Sukhumvit road as seen a few days ago living like a fool. 

 

     

[wgdanson]

11 hours ago, meand said:

My ac bill alone is almost half of 45k

 

got three units running all day and night. 

WHY? I bet you sleep under a 13 TOG duvet as well.    LOL

[55Jay]

9 minutes ago, damascase said:

Embassies penalised?? Three embassies decided they wouldn’t issue income letters anymore because they weren’t willing/able to implement any level of checks on the income declared. If any penalisation, the citizen of the countries were the ones suffering.

Joe Six Pack always winds up taking the hit.

 

Done to death already but when all this income letter business was swirling the drain last year, seemed the Embassies still producing the income letters for their citizens, still weren't performing any verification, and certainly not to the level Thai Immigration "seemed" to be demanding of the others who quit the program altogether.  One Candadian guy told me (on-line) he rocked up to his Embassy for his appointment, presented the form, swore the oath, and walked out with an income letter - 20 minutes flash to bang, same as before.

[Max69xl]

On 8/5/2018 at 10:08 AM, james1995 said:

25,000 baht a month?  More like 7-8000 baht according to my wife.

"25000 baht a month for a recently graduated twenty something Thai." Almost no one gets less than 300 baht a day, and that's around 9000 baht/month.  That's what many bars and restaurants pay their staff. And they work every day. 

[Max69xl]

28 minutes ago, damascase said:

Embassies penalised?? Three embassies decided they wouldn’t issue income letters anymore because they weren’t willing/able to implement any level of checks on the income declared. If any penalisation, the citizen of the countries were the ones suffering.

Four embassies. The US,UK, Australian and Danish.

[Vacuum]

11 hours ago, meand said:

My ac bill alone is almost half of 45k

 

got three units running all day and night. 

Insane number.

[Thaifriends]

Personal evaluation:

 

1. Retirees are projected in the numbers and budget above. There is no harm or bad about that. However, many have fat ego to accept that

 

2. Working expats looks good overall with spendings 

[Thaifriends]

24 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

Insane number.

Maybe the occupants comprises of more Huskies then humens ????

[Vacuum]

2 minutes ago, Thaifriends said:

Maybe the occupants comprises of more Huskies then humens ????

Perhaps, but anyone who locks him/herself in a room 24/7 with ac's running chose the wrong country to live in.

[EricTh]

If a Thai has 45000 baht per month, he's living a good life if he doesn't need to pay house and car mortgages.

[JAG]

On 8/21/2019 at 8:39 AM, KiChakayan said:

Hope I won't get clobbered for reactivating this topic. But I reckon it is interesting that this survey came up some months before the "Letter of income" fiasco. With 50% of the surveyed population being under 65k, if I had been a TI executive, I too would have gone to the embassies to question the value of the documents they issued.

Oh don't worry old chap - it has been a while since the "You're too poor to walk on the same side of the road as me!" fraternity have had the opportunity to "strut their stuff"!

[mommysboy]

On 8/5/2018 at 10:11 AM, Tradewind777 said:

You can rent a room in BKK for 3000baht and if you cannot live on 1000baht a day you need lessons in money management or pull your head in and live more modestly.

A 3000 baht room would likely be a very false economy, but I agree a single man could very easily live in Bangkok or Pattaya for 30,000 and perhaps under.

 

It's been a few years since I did it, but by my reckoning the following adds up to at least decent survival:

 

1. 8000-  An ok room with mod cons, air-con, and possibly internet and exercise area downstairs.

2. 4000 bills including some use of air con.

3. 3000- Thai health insurance policy

4  2000- slush fund for incidental health expenses such as dentistry.

5.  6000 - for household daily food and groceries, new tshirts, sandals, etc.

6.  1000 for travelling around (may not even be required if living central Pattaya)

7.   1000 Phone and internet.

8.  1000 for things not covered above.

9. 2000 slush fund for new gadgets, replace broken appliances.

 

There might be a 10k outlay to start with to buy some cost cutting essentials: kettle, microwave, for instance.

 

It's really the beer, fags, and birds that will require a doubling of the budget if done regularly.

 

Note: the decent, humble food we should be eating is cheap, eg, an 8 serving pack of porridge oats is currently less than 50 baht at Big C.  

 

[Max69xl]

10 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

A 3000 baht room would likely be a very false economy, but I agree a single man could very easily live in Bangkok or Pattaya for 30,000 and perhaps under.

 

It's been a few years since I did it, but by my reckoning the following adds up to at least decent survival:

 

1. 8000-  An ok room with mod cons, air-con, and possibly internet and exercise area downstairs.

2. 4000 bills including some use of air con.

3. 3000- Thai health insurance policy

4  2000- slush fund for incidental health expenses such as dentistry.

5.  6000 - for household daily food and groceries, new tshirts, sandals, etc.

6.  1000 for travelling around (may not even be required if living central Pattaya)

7.   1000 Phone and internet.

8.  1000 for things not covered above.

9. 2000 slush fund for new gadgets, replace broken appliances.

 

There might be a 10k outlay to start with to buy some cost cutting essentials: kettle, microwave, for instance.

 

It's really the beer, fags, and birds that will require a doubling of the budget if done regularly.

 

Note: the decent, humble food we should be eating is cheap, eg, an 8 serving pack of porridge oats is currently less than 50 baht at Big C.  

 

If porridge oats are important,then buy them at Tesco Lotus, 400gram cost 44 baht. ???? 

[rott]

6 hours ago, PatOngo said:

I'd be happy if I was ONLY paying 45,000 baht in tax every month....I pay a lot more than that!

Wow you're my hero.

I wonder if we can organise a lap of honour for you.

[mommysboy]

13 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

If porridge oats are important,then buy them at Tesco Lotus, 400gram cost 44 baht. ???? 

They're not!

 

 

[PatOngo]

1 minute ago, rott said:

Wow you're my hero.

I wonder if we can organise a lap of honour for you.

Not looking for accolades, just stating facts! 

[Max69xl]

1 minute ago, mommysboy said:

They're not!

 

 

Yes,they are. I just bought 2 bags from Tesco Lotus in Pattaya. Last month they had an offer,just 38 baht for 400g. 

[mommysboy]

Just now, Max69xl said:

Yes,they are. I just bought 2 bags from Tesco Lotus in Pattaya. Last month they had an offer,just 38 baht for 400g. 

????  I mean they're not important (the oats). 

 

Just one of many cheap staples in Thailand, along with bread, fresh fruit and vegetables, etc.

[Max69xl]

6 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

They're not!

 

[Max69xl]

1 minute ago, mommysboy said:

????  I mean they're not important (the oats). 

 

Just one of many cheap staples in Thailand, along with bread, fresh fruit and vegetables, etc.

I understand. ????